GOP Rep. McCarthy to Obama: ‘Get off the golf course’ and ‘get engaged’  —  The No. 3 Republican leader in the House took President Obama to task Friday, claiming he should put the golf clubs down and get directly involved in the budget talks with Congress.  —  “He's got to get off …

Their Temper Tantrum  —  Congressional Republicans, who played a major role in piling up the government's unsustainable debt in the first place, have thrown a tantrum and walked out of the debt limit talks.  This bit of grandstanding has brought the nation closer to the financial crisis that Republicans have been threatening for weeks.

New York Conservative Party Chairman Predicts Passage of Same Sex Marriage Bill  —  Mike Long, the chairman of the New York Conservative Party and a leading opponent of the bill to institue same sex marriage in New York, tells THE WEEKLY STANDARD that the bill will likely pass “by the end of the night.”

Gay marriage bill moves to New York senate floor  —  New York's state senate is poised to approve same-sex marriage Friday night, paving the way for the Empire State to become the sixth and by far largest state to allow gays and lesbians to wed.  —  The senate's GOP majority leader …

N.Y. State Senate to Vote on Same-Sex Marriage  —  ALBANY — The State Senate will vote on same-sex marriage, the Senate majority leader said Friday afternoon, setting the stage for a final decision on the most closely watched issue facing the Legislature as it wraps up its annual session.

Exclusive: Top U.S. admiral admits we are trying to kill Qaddafi  —  The top U.S. admiral involved in the Libya war admitted to a U.S. congressman that NATO forces are trying to kill Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi.  The same admiral also said he anticipated the need for ground troops …

President ‘becoming an absolute monarch’ on war powers, Dem says  —  A House Democrat warned Friday that the U.S. president is becoming an “absolute monarch” on matters related to the authority to start a war.  —  Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said Congress must act to limit funding …

Terror by any other name: Osama eyed name change  —  WASHINGTON - As Osama bin Laden watched his terrorist organization get picked apart, he lamented in his final writings that al-Qaida was suffering from a marketing problem.  His group was killing too many Muslims and that was bad for business.